Probe systems may be utilized to test the operation and/or performance of integrated circuit devices by contacting a contact pad of the integrated circuit device with a probe of the probe system. Integrated circuit devices may include contact pads that are on the order of tens of micrometers wide. As an example, current state-of-the art integrated circuit devices generally include contact pads that are 30-50 micrometers wide.
It follows then that aligning a probe with a contact pad requires very precise measurement and manipulation of the locations of the probe and/or the contact pad. This alignment process may be automated. Such an automated alignment process may include focusing an optical assembly, such as an optical microscope, on the contact pad and/or the probe to identify a relative position of the contact pad and/or the probe. However, identifying and/or focusing on the probe with the optical assembly may be difficult to reliably and consistently accomplish. Thus, there exists a need for probes that include features to facilitate focusing on the probe with an optical assembly in order to precisely identify a spatial location of the probe.